What’s a confessional church?
What’s a confessional church?
A confessional church is a community of believers who affirm a set of theological statements (known as confessions) as a way to formally express their faith. These confessions also function as a guide of their understanding of the scriptures.
What’s a confession?
A confession is like a special written message that formally states what a group of Christians believe in when it comes to their faith. It's a way for them to declare and explain their beliefs.
When Christians make a confession, it's like they're talking to themselves, reminding each other about what they believe and what they want to do as a church. It helps them remember their goals and the things they hope to achieve together.
A confession, however, is not only for that group of Christians. It's also a way to share with the world, with other churches, different religions, and even people who don't believe in anything. It works as a way of telling the world what the church believes in and what they think God wants them to do.
The Christian Reformed Church
in North America
OHCRC is a Christian Reformed Church (CRC), part of the CRCNA.
Reformed Christians are a small part of a much larger body of believers who love and serve Jesus Christ. Reformed teachings are shared by denominations other than the Christian Reformed Church. What’s different is the emphasis that we might place on them.
We believe that the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, the only infallible rule for faith and life.
We affirm three creeds—the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed—as ecumenical expressions of the Christian faith. We also affirm three confessions—the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort—as historic Reformed expressions of the Christian faith, whose doctrines fully agree with the Word of God.
Along with these historic creeds and confessions, we recognize the following Reformed expressions of the Christian faith, adopted as contemporary testimonies: the call for unity, justice, and reconciliation of the Belhar Confession and the witness of Our World Belongs to God: A Contemporary Testimony.